Opening with fanfare maximizes brand exposure, many operators believe. But grand openings can be expensive and time consuming, and can sometimes bring too many customers to a restaurant on its first day.

Modmarket, an upstart Boulder, Colorado–based fast-casual chain, has not held a grand opening for any of its four locations. It does, however, have pre-opening events. The company places a board outside in-development restaurants directing customers to a website, where they can secure an invitation to the pre-opening event that serves free food.

“That builds a bit of buzz,” says founding partner Anthony Pigliacampo. “It only takes a handful of people to discover this, and you get 100–200 people.”

It also creates a low-pressure environment to train staff, Pigliacampo says. If the staff makes mistakes, customers don’t mind because they’re eating for free, he says.

Pigliacampo says he spends far less—around $1,000—on these events than he would for a grand opening.

How Do You Roll?, an Austin, Texas–based sushi concept, opened its Phoenix location last year with no grand opening. The restaurant is located in a new mall where Five Guys, Chipotle, and Jersey Mike’s had recently opened. Prior to opening, the manager handed out coupons for a free sushi roll.

“We’d try to explain the concept and build the anticipation about the opening,” says franchisee Shane Sender. “We tried to build excitement. Everyone was coming to Chipotle, and we built off of that and their customers.”

In November, The Berryhill Baja Grill opened its 12th restaurant in the Houston market without a grand opening.

“Doing a grand opening in a city where we’re well known didn’t make much sense,” says Jeff Anon, CEO of Berryhill Hot Tamales Corporation. Instead, the company dropped off food to all of the town’s radio stations and nearby businesses to spread the word.

“This builds emotional connections,” Anon says. “We tell all of our franchisees to go out and be the face of their restaurant.”

Rule No. 5: Do Not Open In an Unconventional Location

Operators tend to avoid locations with no parking, bad storefront traffic patterns, and poor visibility. But these locations can sometimes be a blessing in disguise, experts say.

The second Modmarket location, in Glendale, Colorado, was behind another restaurant and set back from the street, Pigliacampo says.

“However, we saw there was a dearth of healthy options and we figured if we did a great job, the word would spread,” he says. “When people see the site, no one can believe the sales we’re doing. It’s testament to the fact that the most important thing is the experience you’re delivering to your customers, and if you’re 300 feet off the beaten path, people will still find you.”

The downside of being off the beaten path, he says, is that sales take a little bit longer to build. But the benefits, he says, are worth it.

“People have to discover your restaurant, and then they have ownership of it,” he says. The rent also makes the low-visibility location a hit, he says. “That store is extremely profitable because the rent is so manageable.”

There’s no parking at the St. Charles Avenue Smoothie King location in New Orleans, but franchisee Rose Kuhnau says that fact has only encouraged employees to perform better.

“You have to keep the fact that you’re a quick serve in mind, and be well staffed, and provide quick service if someone is double parked or illegally parked,” she says.

Employees even run smoothie orders out to the trolley-car drivers and people in cabs who pass by their door and order in advance, Kuhnau says.

“I think if you provide an outstanding experience and people feel good in your business, they’ll find a way to come back, even if they have to park and walk,” she says. “People will remember that, tell friends about it, and it increases your business.”

Rule No. 6: Open Your Doors Seven Days a Week

Convention wisdom says the more days a business is open, the more revenue it earns. But some restaurant companies have bucked the notion, including Chick-fil-A, which is a $4 billion business without being open on Sundays.

Single-unit Tortilla Bar, in Orem, Utah, also closes on Sundays.

“I think everyone needs the time off,” says owner and chef Sam Oteo. “Sundays would be a great time for us to open, but it’s a time for my staff to be with family and recuperate from the six days a week that we open.”

It’s important to Oteo that his staff has personal time, he says, because it helps them perform better the rest of the week.

All four OinkADoodleMoo locations close on Sundays, too. It’s partly for religious reasons, says Mark Peebles, CEO of the Englewood, Ohio–based brand, but it also gives employees something to look forward to all week. Like Oteo, Peebles believes employees need to refresh and be ready for the next week so they can provide great service.

Consumers respect restaurant closures, Peebles says. “Our customers have tremendous respect for us closing on Sundays, and people who come by on Sundays when we’re closed usually come back [another day].”

Rule No. 7: Do Not Offer Expensive Dishes

Customers eat at quick-serve and fast-casual restaurants because they’re fast and consistent, but above all, because they’re inexpensive. Some brands, however, are testing the limits of just how expensive a menu item can be.

“I want to compete on quality,” says Paul Steck, president of Saladworks. “There’s always someone who can compete on price. So I’m going to create the best salad that I can and I’ll charge what I need to. You can’t be all things to all people.”

Quicks Hole, a seasonal fast-casual restaurant in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, opposite the Martha’s Vineyard ferry, serves a $24.95 lobster roll. “We source the best fresh lobster, never cut it in any way, and overstuff that roll,” says owner Beth Colt. “Food cost on that one item is around 35 percent.

“I can’t drop the price, because I use really good lobster,” she adds. “It gets people talking and it gets the line forming.”

But the reason most customers don’t care about the price, Colt explains, is that almost all of them are waiting to catch the ferry and are typically in a summer vacation state of mind.

“It’s easier to justify [buying the roll] when you’re in this unique location and you want to try this unique thing,” she says. “We’re building regular customers who can actually come and visit us once a year.”